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What is an Ice Cream Sandwich?
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick
The traditional ice cream sandwich consists of a layer of vanilla ice cream literally sandwiched between two thin chocolate cookie wafers, although there is certainly a lot of room for improvisation. The ice cream in an ice cream sandwich could run the gamut from vanilla to chocolate to cookies and cream, with many other flavors available. The outer shells could be gourmet cookies, sweet crackers, chocolate candy bars or other suitable treats. An ice cream sandwich could also be coated with chocolate and sprinkled with traditional ice cream toppings.
The ice cream sandwich is thought to have been invented in the 1890s by ice cream vendors working the streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side in New York City. Italian street vendors often sold sweet wafer cookies called pizzelles along with homemade ice cream and other treats. Some sources theorize that the vendors would combine a layer of ice cream with two thin wafer cookies and promote them as more user-friendly "ice cream sandwiches." Early accounts of ice cream sandwich vending indicate the total cost of the treat to be one cent.
The popularity of the ice cream sandwich increased steadily, which led several local dairy and ice cream companies such as Isaly's to offer their own versions to customers. Eventually the ice cream sandwich became a mass-produced addition to other ice cream novelties, such as fudgesicles, popsicles and Eskimo pies. While the ice cream industry settled on the vanilla ice cream and soft chocolate wafers as the standard ice cream sandwich recipe, smaller companies and gourmet ice cream shops continued to offer their own variations.
Today it is not unusual to find a large variety of ice cream sandwich flavors in grocery store freezers, and many specialty ice cream outlets allow customers to create their own ice cream sandwiches from gourmet cookies and exotic ice cream flavors. One popular alternative to the traditional vanilla ice cream filling is a Neopolitan version featuring sections of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. There are also sugar-free and lower fat versions of ice cream sandwiches available for those consumers on special diets.
Michael Pollick
A regular WiseGEEK contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.
Learn more...
Michael Pollick
A regular WiseGEEK contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.
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![Vanilla ice cream forms the middle of an ice cream sandwich.]()
By: dream79Vanilla ice cream forms the middle of an ice cream sandwich. -
![A large variety of ice cream sandwich flavors can be found in grocery store freezers.]()
By: adisaA large variety of ice cream sandwich flavors can be found in grocery store freezers.
Discussion Comments
I make an ice cream sandwich dessert that tastes just as good, or better, than the ones you buy in the store. The fun part about making this is you can use whatever kinds of ice cream you want to. If you are making this for a kids party, I will usually use chocolate chip cookie dough or strawberry ice cream.
If I am making it for adults, I will often use the traditional vanilla or a butter pecan flavored ice cream. If you are short on time, this is easy to make ahead of time, and store in the freezer until you are ready to use it.
Ice cream sandwiches are a favorite summertime treat for young and old alike. Well - not just summertime but any time! I like the traditional with the vanilla ice cream, but you can have any kind of ice cream in the middle. My favorite is a strawberry ice cream sandwich. The combination of the strawberry ice cream with the soft chocolate wafer is so good!
Besides tasting so good, they are such an easy treat because you don't need any utensils - just your fingers (and probably a napkin when you are done)!
The danger of ice cream sandwiches is that you tend to get hooked. Usually one is not enough, you want to have at least one more.
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